Three days of waking
by Netta Sloan
Summary: Ed is coming off of the drugs used in his automail surgery.  You may want to read, Regrets about the Procedure first.
1. The first night

He was being above-cautious the way he slowly opened the door to Ed's room. Well, it wasn't really his room, but he had pretty much taken it over for the last few days. Earlier that evening Winry and Granny had started the first major portion of Ed's automail. Hot metal had pierced through bone and flesh, melding with the tissues until it was a part of Ed. The first step taken to becoming a being half-living and half-metal; and it was all for him. He'd even managed to help with the process, at least a little, but he couldn't bring himself to clean his brother of blood. That he had left to the person who did the majority of the work, Winry. After watching her cry while doing the job he felt he should have done; he was ashamed, sheepish, and above-cautious, when checking on his brother. As the door swung the entire way open, he filled with relief. It was Granny. It was Granny sitting with Ed, taking his vitals, and dressing his wounds.

"Is there anything I can do to help, Granny?" The old woman looked up, surprised at his offer. After a few loud sucks on the toothpick currently hanging out the corner of her mouth she responded.

"I made Winry go to bed. She was passed out in here with Ed all propped up in a weird position. She got water everywhere." Al watched her as she paused, seeming to mull something over. "I don't suppose you can feel Ed's heartbeat?"

"I can't feel it, but I can hear it when I'm close enough." She gave him a sharp, scrutinizing look before answering.

"And you can hear it when it changes, I suppose."

"Yes ma'am."

"I suppose that will have to do." She plucked the toothpick from her lips and surreptitiously slid it into the front pocket of her apron.

"These drugs we gave to Ed. Do you know what they do?"

"Um…they make him unconscious and they prevent him from moving."

"Good boy, I'm glad one of you pays attention. The drug that makes him unconscious also helps to numb the pain of the operation. So if that one starts wearing off first he won't be able to communicate it. Follow so far?"

"Yes, Granny."

"So the best way to monitor which of the drugs is wearing off first is to listen to his heartbeat and breathing. If the paralytic wears off first like it's supposed to he will begin fighting the respirator which you'll definitely hear. However if the pain drug wears off first the only indicator is his heartbeat. Winry and I can hold his wrist and monitor it, but if you can hear it, then you can help."

"You want me to sit up beside Ed and listen to his heartbeat?"

"That's right and if there are any changes run and get us. Okay son, I'm gunna be on the couch. Winry's in her room. You run get us if anything changes."

"Okay."

She turned back as she opened the door, Al making himself comfortable on the floor beside the bed. "Wake Winry up at dawn. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am, Granny. Good night."

She waved at him over her shoulder, stifling a yawn as she shut the door behind her. Al was now all alone again. Laying his metal head on the mattress beside Ed's torso he could hear the heartbeat. The steady pace was a welcome shock. After all Ed's little body had been through, that his heart was that strong amazed Al. After all of his doubts about the procedure, to hear this washed them all away. He sat there for hours, just listening to that strong beating, remembering his mother and ever so faintly the man who fathered him. It wasn't fair, but he was glad Ed was the older one, to fill in their place. He knew they'd get through this.

As the night wore on, midnight striking and going, the moon passing over the top of the window, slight changes could be detected in the pace of Ed's heart. For the first few minutes Al ignored it, thinking his brother was dreaming again. When nearly half an hour had passed and Ed hadn't let out a gasp Al knew something was wrong. What Granny had been afraid of was happening. He flew out of the room bellowing Granny as loud as he could as he raced up the stairs to get Winry.

The door to her bedroom slammed open and she jolted up. Before she could get to her feet Al had yanked her up by one arm and dragged her from the room. She fell on the stairs, but he was too impatient, pulling her stumbling down them anyways. Granny was sitting up on the couch rubbing her eyes.

"What's wrong, Al?"

"It's like you said Granny, his heartbeat changed." At this Winry's eyes widened and she jerked free of his grasp running for the room. Granny just yawned as her eyes followed her granddaughter, then she slowly made her way to the kitchen. Al looked back and forth between the two rooms, confused by the different reactions, before deciding to follow Winry.

She had left the door open and thrown on all of the light switches. Her gloves were on and she was quickly preparing a tray of rubbing alcohol and cotton. Looking up at his entrance she turned to him.

"Al, help me roll him to his side, Granny should be here in a minute with the shot."

"Shot?!"

"Yes, shot. We have to give him more pain medicine. Now come help me."

Together they carefully rolled Ed onto his left side. Winry pulled the sheets down, exposing his back. Looking it over with a critical eye, she chose a spot on his spine and rubbed an alcohol-soaked piece of cotton over it. Granny walked in with the syringe as Winry reached for his throat, feeling for a pulse in such a hurried way Al was sure it would bruise.

"How is it?"

"Strong, but a little fast."

"Well, calm down, girl."

"I'm sorry, Granny."

"Hold him steady, now, Al. Winry keep a finger on that pulse."

Winry and Al both stiffened as the needle went in. The plunger was lowered painfully slowly. As the needle was backed out of the wound they both relaxed.

"We got him in time. I'm going to bed. Winry clean this up and wake me in the morning. I put some coffee on."

Still yawning Pinako left the room. Al and Winry exchanged glances.

"Al, will you hold him steady? I'm going to clean off the alcohol and check the bandages."

"Okay Winry." She rubbed a dry towel over the injection site before putting applying a small circular band-aid. Al wanted to laugh at this. She spent the whole day drilling and branding hot metal into his flesh and she's worried about a little puncture wound? She slowly pulled up one side of the large bandage over his scapula. "These look good. I'll check them again in the morning. We can lay him back down now."

They carefully lowered Ed back to the sheets. Once there, Winry pulled up both of her arms in a big stretch letting out a soft yawn. Al winced as the sleeve of her t-shirt fell down exposing a large red mark on her upper arm.

"I'm sorry, Winry."

"Why?" He pointed at her arm. "Oh." She hastily covered it back up with her sleeve. "No big deal. It doesn't even hurt."

"I'm still sorry."

"It's okay. Help me shift Ed over some."

"Why?"

"It's lonely having to stay up all alone and watch him. I'll stay, too."

He gently pulled Ed over to one side of the table as Winry climbed onto the other side. He spread the sheet out over both of them and took a seat on the floor. A few minutes of silence passed before Al got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just turning off the lights."

"Okay."

"Winry?"

"What?"

"Will you sing to us?"

"What do you want me to sing?"

"I don't know. Anything. Mom used to sing to us when we got sick."

"Okay, Al, but if I mess it up tell me to stop."

"You won't mess it up." She yawned and hesitated a minute. He hadn't known where this request had come from and was about to take it back when Winry quietly began. He was so close he could hear her heartbeat as well as Ed's and it was pounding. He wondered if Ed was awake would she still have done it, although he could have sworn he heard her singing to his brother a few times before he decided to do the automail. As she continued she got slower and softer. Al reached up to hold her hand, to let her know he liked it. Her little fingers curled around his thumb as her words drifted off. Soon her words faded away entirely to deep breathing and her heartbeat was steady again. His thoughts turned inward as he listened to the combined drumming and thought of his parents, his brother, and his future.


	2. The next morning

After Winry had fallen asleep Al had taken back his hand. Reaching under the bed he pulled out the book he had been reading. Ed had made him promise that he would stay safe on their upcoming travels and Al had taken it to heart. The book was tattered, the pages worn and yellow. There was a big stew stain in the lower corner of the spine from where he'd fished it out of the trash before their "accident". It was written by their father and seemed to be a sort of travelogue from before he'd met their precious mother. Al had salvaged it after Ed had tossed everything "not important" from their dad's study. It was pretty straightforward describing the sights and sounds of places he went. Where big battles had taken place he would even include a short history. Good restaurants were never mentioned, but Al didn't notice having already forgotten the desire for food. A few hours of reading, the sun slowly rising and casting the shadow of the lace curtain on the pages, he was rudely brought out of his reverie by Winry's screech as she fell off the bed and onto him.

"Ow!"

"Winry!"

"Granny, why do you have to always startle me like that?!"

"What? I was just looking in from the doorway."

"Sorry Al." The little girl groaned and slowly pulled her limbs from the tangled sprawl she created when she fell. Al picked up his book and quickly stowed it under the table before regaining his head.

"'Morning Granny!"

"'Mornin' Al. How'd the little runt do last night?"

"He did fine, Granny. No movements at all and his heart is steady as can be."

"Well don't just stand around girl. Clean him up and change those bandages. I'll be fixin' breakfast if you're hungry after."

The old woman padded back down the hallway as Winry got to work. She pulled the sheets off of Ed and Al glanced away, embarrassed for his older brother, who was lying there completely nude. The motion alerted Winry who looked up at him.

"Al do you maybe want to go help Granny in the kitchen?"

He returned her look for a minute before swallowing down whatever empathy he was feeling for his brother and gathering his courage.

"Actually, Winry, do you mind if I stay and help you?" She smiled brightly in response to his question.

"Sure Al, here's what you can do. Go to the medical supply closet over there against the wall and pick out a new cath bag, a full-nutrient drip, a roll of gauze, a roll of tape, and the saline spray." He ambled over to the cabinet and began filling his arms with her requests while surreptitiously watching her out of the corner of his eye. She deposited the top sheets into a linen basket with a weird symbol on the lid before walking out of the room. He hurried and deposited his bounty of things on the work table before heading to the door to follow her. She bumped right into him with a new stack of linens blocking her view.

"Ow Al."

"Sorry."

" 's'okay. Um….next we need a basin with warm water and rags."

"Okay." He went out into the hallway and headed to gather her request.

"Oh and bring me my shampoo, too!"

"But Brother wouldn't want to smell all girly!" he protested.

"Too bad!" He sighed and went to do as she requested.

When he came back she had already gotten started checking the i.v. and cath, replacing both bags. He sat the basin next to her along with a little tub of soaps. He watched a little alarmed as she very carefully wet one of the cloths and cleaned around Ed's face. She made a little sound of distress at his chapped lips and sent Al to a stand of drawers for a suction bulb. Al thought he'd seen the worst things, but the stream of mucous Winry withdrew from Ed's nostrils with the little tool was extremely gross for this time in the morning. With shame he averted his eyes until it was safely over. He helped her pull off the bandages one by one and even held the penlight steady as she used a little mirror tool to peer into each new hollow bolt. When they rolled him over to access the scapula points Winry very carefully pulled the sheet out from underneath. Instructing him to hold the body steady, she slowly began the process of cleaning Ed. Starting with his right leg a light soapy mixture was rubbed on, then rubbed off. It was quickly towel-dried to "help prevent him getting a chill" she explained. The stump of his left leg was thoroughly irrigated with the saline solution before and after she washed the remaining part of the leg. She slowly moved up his back even dragging the cloth through the crack of Ed's behind, making Al look away again. _I am never telling Ed about this. He'd murder me._ The irrigation and washing was repeated on his upper back.

"mmm….Can you scoot him more towards the edge of the bed? Washing his hair this way is probably better than leaning him against a stack of pillows."

He snickered a little as the designer shampoo Winry started using after her mother died was put into Ed's hair.

"Shut it, Al. It's good for Ed and it doesn't smell that girly." He only snickered in reply as the stuff was rinsed out. "Okay, lay him flat again."

"Don't we need to reapply the bandages?"

"Not until he's totally clean. I don't want to risk them getting wet again. Here, take this rag and work from the bottom up. I'm starting to get hungry."

He washed the front of the legs and even got the crevices between Ed's toes. He was becoming a little creeped out at how lifeless Ed was. As he neared the waist he hesitated. He was unsure how to wash someone who had that in there and whether or not his brother would even want him touching that. Luckily Winry was almost finished and quick to take charge.

"You just hold this tube for me and I'll clean the rest." He didn't answer, but did as she asked. He watched as she slowly pulled the foreskin down and ran a wet cloth over his brother's most delicate of areas. If he could have cried, he would have. Watching as, finished with that, Winry cleaned the rest; he made a vow to himself. _I will be a good little brother and follow him. I will remain loyal. I will only fight when he truly needs to be fought with._ He understands now, a little, why Ed didn't want to hear too many details about this process. A slight flash of gold between Winry's fingers jerked his thoughts back to what he was doing.

"What is that?"

"What?"

"That gold?"

"Oh, it's just hair, Al."

"Hair?! But he's not even twelve, yet! I didn't have any hair!" At this Winry flushed a deep red while he squirmed in embarrassment at his outburst.

"Well, Al. I'm sure when you get your body back you will."

"Winry…uh.." Her eyes glared at him and he quailed a little, changing his mind about the question he was on the verge of blurting out. "Are we finished?"

She sighed in relief, "yeah, just let me put new bandages back on."

He handed her gauze, scissors, and tape when she asked for them. When they rolled him over to get to the scapula wounds and to better secure the leg a new sheet was placed on the bed. Clean up was done quickly and soon it was like they hadn't even done anything at all. New sheets were spread over Ed's unconscious form. Just as they were about to head out of the room Winry paused.

"Oh yeah. His lips."

Reaching into a little stand by the door she pulled out a tub of jelly and smeared some on a finger. She gently applied it to the chapped skin around the ventilator then seemed to pause in thought. He watched as she leaned down and seemed to whisper something into Ed's ear before kissing his temple. She skipped back to where he was by the door waiting and flipped the light switch.

"Granny, I'm done! Are you going to go sit with him or do I have to eat in there?!"

Al followed her as she skipped ahead of him to the kitchen, wondering what she could have said.


	3. Colors of the day

The afternoon wore on slowly. Granny had sent Winry to bed, since even though the girl insisted she had enough sleep, she yawned her way through lunch. Granny had Al drag an old rocking chair into the room Ed was occupying and had settled down with a large amount of red material and her needlepoint. Al had watched her work for a while, trying to ascertain what she was making, but gave up when she snapped at him for the third time. He spent some time frolicking outside with Old Den, before she too snapped at him. He felt kind of lonely, but when she heard the stairs creak Granny yelled at him to leave Winry alone. Not much in the mood for reading he had finally dug out the items Granny had purchased for him last week. He sat at the foot of Ed's bed and spread them out around him.

To start with he chose the bluest color out of the box. He'd been embarrassed when he asked for the large crayons and coloring books, but had gotten over it pretty fast. If he was going to be useful and help Ed, then he had to get better at alchemy. Eleven snapped pencils and three broken messes of pens later; he had decided that he needed to work on his dexterity in this body if he was going to be either. He had fretted and broken seven more pencils before the idea of coloring hit. He had at first told Winry and she was nice enough to encourage him. Granny had given him a strange look, but hadn't questioned. She even bought him a few more things that she said would help. He looked at them as he colored. The first was a set of cards with a list of games. Shuffling was still impossible and the cards were already beat up from being thrown through the air or snatched from the playful jaws of a dog. The other was a book with a set of coins. These were magic tricks, sleight of hand, and were still shiny. He was afraid to try them until he'd gotten shuffling down. He attributed this idea to Winry, since she seemed to always be pulling tools from no where.

So there he sat, coloring. He'd almost finished the water around a boat when a loud snap reverberated through the room causing Granny to jump and drop her material. He'd broken his first crayon. He looked dumbly at his hand for a minute before choosing the top half to continue working with. He finished with the water and moved on to the sky. He pressed very gently, but it was so gently that he lost his grip and the crayon fell. Not giving up, he grasped it again willing himself to hold it correctly and began coloring. He managed to get the sky entirely colored in. It was nearly as blue as the outside and with a few smears of his leather fingers looked just as smooth. He was almost proud of his accomplishment as he reached for the brown. Confusion made his eyes flicker as his came up empty. Sure he had grasped something, he looked at the box only to discover that instead of grabbing the brown he had simply ground the point into nearly nothing. Chiding himself he picked up the box and gently attempted to shake out what he needed. When nothing happened at first he shook a little harder causing all of the crayons to go clattering onto the floor and his hand reflexively crushed the box. He made a little sound of distress, not noticing he had caught Granny's attention, as he tried to straighten back out the box.

The old woman, for her part, didn't say anything, but watched the boy's struggles for a few minutes. As she looked from him to his older brother the sadness that has always been in her heart warred with her old warrior's spirit. The usual stubbornness won out and she slipped quietly from her chair and out of the room. When she came back she hesitated, watching the armor struggle, before she approached him. She nonchalantly picked up two of the crayons and put them in the old coffee tin she'd brought him. The boy looked up to her as she set it down in front of him and regained her seat. He stared at her as she went back to her work and ignored him. After a few minutes he made a sniffling sound and wiped at eyes that weren't there. His determination returned and he put all of the crayons in the tin, and then tried again to pluck the brown out.

He never noticed as dusk fell and Granny left the room to start dinner. He was aware of only two things, his progress at coloring and the comforting sound of Ed's steady breathing. He worked on the same picture throughout the sunset and barely even noticed as the light dimmed around him. He was putting the finishing touches of white ruffles on the waves and a dedication to Granny spelled out in the foam when the door burst open, causing him to jump. There stood Winry in all her freshly showered and fed glory holding a beat-up old shoebox. She stomped over to where he was sitting and plopped the box in front of him.

"Granny told me you were coloring so I thought I'd bring you some more choices."

Al looked into the box at the old crayons gathered there. Some large ones, some small ones, some really skinny-pencil looking ones, even a set of what looked like pens.

"Thanks Winry! These are great!"

"No problem! There are even a few tablets if you want to try drawing something instead of coloring. I'll play with you once I check out Ed."

"Okay."

The little girl stood with her hands on her hips for a minute as she watched him. Then she shrugged and got to her work. She of course changed all of Ed's various tubes, checked his breathing, made sure he wasn't sweaty, then rubbed lubricant on his lips again before kissing his cheek. She plopped back down in front of Al just as he was beginning to page through one of the tablets she'd brought with her. She watched as he stopped at one of the pages and held it up to her.

"This looks kind of like Ed's automail."

"It is. I was probably about seven. I started coloring a lot when Mom and Dad went to the war. I think I stopped after their funerals and began focusing only on schematics."

"This is only a coloring!?"

"Of course, silly. You've seen my schematics before."

"But Winry, it's so detailed."

"Yeah, but there are a lot of flaws." She plucked a skinny red crayon out of the box. "So what are we coloring?"

And that was how they passed the night. Each coloring away. At some point Granny popped her head in and said goodnight, but the two barely noticed her. She left a stack of linens with a pillow on top before closing the door quietly. As the moon made its pass through the sky Winry began to get sleepy again and her hand cramped. Al watched as she would stop coloring and rub her wrist a little. Every now and then she would rub the shoulder he bruised, too, which only served to strengthen his determination to master feel-less touch. He laughed a little as with a great big yawn Winry curled up on the floor and went to sleep. She snored a little bit, all curled up how she was, which made her even cuter. He hesitated for a few minutes before moving. He checked on Ed, everything looked good, and slowly slid him over to one side of the table. Picking up Winry, he was surprised at how easy it was. True he had been picking up Ed a lot, but Ed was missing two limbs. Winry was whole and not much smaller than his real body was. As he gently laid her down beside his brother he wondered at his hands and how strong he really was in this form. He retrieved the blankets and spread them out over the two. He giggled a little as Winry shifted in her sleep, gently clinging to Ed's intact arm. Feeling very sneaky, he pulled a stool over to the bedside before picking up one of Winry's delicate pencils and empty tablets. He never was much of an artist, but he wanted to save this moment for later. It was kind of nice, seeing his brother and childhood friend cuddle like that. It reminded him of old times when he would happen upon the two of them sleeping together in hiding spots during their childhood games. Frowning a little at what they had all lost, he very firmly touched pencil to paper. He would help, no matter what. He wasn't going to let this body hold him back. He drew until dawn.


	4. Monkey blood and Nail clippers

The next morning came quietly. Al listened carefully to the house wake up, its various creaks and groans from being warmed in the sunlight. Den was really the first occupant awake, but all she did was pad into the room and curl up at the foot of the table. It was nearing mid-morning before Al heard Granny's morning zombie shuffle down the hallway to the kitchen. He knew he had about three minutes before she gulped down a mug of hot coffee and revived. So he moved from his place by the bed, carefully hiding his drawing tablet under the table with his father's journal, and went to clean up last nights crayon mess. His hands now moved delicately and no crayons or pencils were broken. He smoothly stacked the tablets and books on top before placing the toys under Granny's rocking chair. He kept out his first picture, though, the shot of the person canoeing on a river. When Granny made her way into the room he greeted her at the door, picture in hand.

"Good morning, Granny! I made you a picture last night."

"'mornin' Al. Thanks son." She took the picture from him and held it at her side as she surveyed the room. "Winry crawled into bed with him again, eh?"

"Not exactly Granny. She passed out in the floor and I moved her." He stared at the floor as the old woman squinted up at him.

"Wasn't she heavy?"

"No."

"Well, then I guess I better start breakfast. Did Winry talk to you about today?"

"What about today?"

The old woman sighed. She took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a minute before placing the spectacles back on her face and continuing. "The other medicine we gave Ed, the one that made him hold still." He nodded and she went on. "It's supposed to wear off soon. I'm surprised it didn't wear off last night in all honesty, but that's how this one works. Someone needs to be with him all day today and into the night if need be for when that happens. I'll let Winry stay most of the day, but you can listen too."

"Okay."

"Good boy. Alright, I'm making breakfast. You can let Winry sleep some more, I'll bring a tray in."

"Yes ma'am." She walked out of the room and Al hesitated a little before heading to the rocking chair. It was time to try out those cards.

He spent the next half-hour attempting to shuffle and picking up the mess he made. Each attempt slowly gained success and he had almost gotten the task down when Granny startled him by walking into the room. She looked surprised as cards flew everywhere before laughing a little. A queen of hearts was fished out of scrambled eggs and Al took it sheepishly as he gathered the other players. The tray was left on a side table and Granny started to leave. She turned and whistled lowly to Den who cracked open on sleepy eye and glared. Al watched as the old woman and the old dog had a staring contest until the old dog backed down and followed the little grandmother from the room. He chuckled to himself a little bit over the situation before depositing the deck of cards with his other toys under the rocking chair.

He approached the bed warily remembering how Winry is cranky in the mornings. First he tried whispering a very gentle, "Winry, Winry, wake up. Granny brought you some breakfast." When he didn't get a response he tried a little louder. The little girl didn't so much as groan. Giving in he reached out and gently shook her shoulder. He watched as she flopped a little in his grip, but refused to be roused. Shaking a little harder he immediately stopped when he noticed not just Winry moved but his brother, too. Feeling the beginnings of frustration he squared his feet and pulled the covers off. The only reaction this got from her was a slight rolling over as she curled up tighter to Ed. He sighed before grabbing her hands and forcing her to release her grip. He made her sit up and only as he was turning her to make her stand did she start to groan and blink a little.

"Aaaalllllllphooonse…."she whined at him, but he refused to be moved forcing her to stand. She swayed on her feet a little but kept her balance. When he drew his hands back she yawned, stretched, and started to crawl back into bed. He laughed and caught at her shoulder forcing her to remain standing. He laughed a little more as she turned a bleary eye back over her shoulder to glare at him.

"Now Winry, just quit glaring at me. Granny says it's time to get up and eat breakfast. Look she even brought it in here for you."

Not breaking her glare she slowly turned to face him, her hand groping the table beside her for the coffee cup. She continued to glare at him over the rim of the mug as she downed half of the contents. Her glare broke as she sat the coffee cup down and yawned again, her eyes closing so her mouth can open wider. "I'm going potty." She slurred out before pushing past him and stomping out of the room. Al burst out in full-fledged laughter as she stumbled out of the room. As her steps faded away he turned to Ed, straightening the covers back over his form.

Twenty minutes passed with Al slowly getting irritated before Winry reappeared. She chirped a quick "Good morning, Al" even pressing a kiss to his metal cheek after she put down the load of linens in her arms. Al hesitated, surprised at this change. She had not only gone potty it seems, but also cleaned up. Her hair was a little damp, though she pulled it back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a light summer dress in place of her nightgown.

"Let me eat up really quick and then you can help me clean up Ed."

"We have to clean him again?! But we just cleaned him yesterday."

"Well yeah" was said through a mouthful of eggs and bacon, "ew it's all cold already."

Al sighed and watched her eat. She was worse than Ed sometimes, shoveling everything in at once and not even swallowing it all before taking a drink of something. Gross. He hoped he wasn't that bad of an eater when he still had his body. His thoughts ran back to his days of training. Ew, he was probably worse. He swore then when he got his body back he would make all three of them take lessons in table manners. And maybe other etiquette stuff too, both Winry and Ed have potty mouths. He watched as the last bit of toast was tossed into Winry's mouth. She drained both her milk and her juice back to back while still chewing.

"Ahh!" She pronounced sticking out her tongue. "All done!" "Let me take the dishes away and then we'll get started. You remember all of the stuff, right?"

He shook his head and sighed, "Yes, I remember."

He gathered up his supplies and waited until Winry came back. She entered with everything else they needed in a tub. They quickly got to work. Ed was stripped and cleaned the same as yesterday. Every bag was replaced and the lines were checked. Winry was slightly distressed by something on one of the clavicle bolts, but Al couldn't see any difference than the other and thought it was all in her head. He continued to look away when she cleaned or did things he thought Ed would be uncomfortable with and snickered loudly as the designer shampoo was used again. A snide comment about nail polish earned him the bottle in the face and as it gooped out over the back of his helmet he was horrified at the idea of smelling girly. Winry laughed and helped him wash it out, then afterwards took a big sniff and declared with an evil grin, that yes, indeed, he did smell girly. The time came to re-bandage Ed's wounds and Winry made an unusual request.

"Al, can you go to the bathroom and get me a few more things I forgot?"

"Um, sure, what?"

"I need monkey blood and nail clippers?"

"Nail clippers?"

"Yeah, as Ed wakes up he might clench his fist. His nails are kind of long now so I want to make sure he doesn't cut his hand."

"Uh, okay, but why monkey blood? Granny says I'm not supposed to play with it since we used it all up trying to make a bomb two summers ago."

"I just want to put a little bit on that scapula wound. It should help."

"Okay."

Al trotted off into the still steamy bathroom. He fished through the medicine cabinet over the sink pushing aside bolts, nails, a few screw bits, a teeny-tiny eyeglass screwdriver, bath duckys, and sore muscle cream to find what he needed. The little bottle of "monkey blood" as they had called it, had some of the reddish stuff on the outside. Al wiped it off of his gauntlets quickly, not entirely sure what reaction it would have with his armor. He winced when he saw the new stains on Granny's hand towels. He would be yelled at over that later for sure. He wrapped tissue around the bottle to prevent it from getting on him anymore as he headed back to the room. He hesitated upon entering as he watched Winry. She was looking out the window, hands on the pane. He couldn't say why, but for some reason she looked kind of sad. He carefully backed away from the door and approached it again with louder stomping. She greeted him halfway across the room this time, taking the items from his hands.

"Thanks Al" She gave him her big confident Winry-smile. "Ready to finish up?"

_24/08/07 Author's note Al's way of waking up Winry is older-sister approved and tested, be careful when applying to people who out-weigh you. Monkey blood is really iodine, I used the childhood nickname for it. All my previous attempts at using it for bomb making were failures. Not very commonly used anymore, but it's in my cabinet. _


	5. A sunny afternoon

Al and Winry sat with Ed through the entire morning. Together they went through the list of card games as Al worked on his dexterity. He quickly mastered shuffling and was even doing some fancy tricks with the cards when Granny called to them for lunch. The old woman pulled Winry aside and they seemed to have an argument in whispers, though Al couldn't make out what it was they were mad about. It seemed Granny won when Winry went stomping up the stairs. She quickly took her place on the rocking chair and started to eat a beef and potato plate while her eyes scanned Ed. After a moment, she looked over to Al where he was still working with the cards.

"Al, go keep Winry company while she eats."

"But she went upstairs."

"She'll be down soon. Go on."

He hesitated and then slipped his deck of cards into a pocket. "Yes ma'am Granny." She grunted in reply and turned back to her plate.

Al tried to be quiet as he made his way down the hall to the kitchen. Waiting on Winry, he grew increasingly bored. Slouching down in the kitchen chair he'd chosen to sit in, he drew his feet back quickly when something let out a muffled whine. Den came trotting out from under the table and glared at him. Reaching down, he gently rubbed her ears as he made an apology. Sighing in the direction of the stairs he turned back to the dog. Her eyes had closed in pleasure and her tail was wagging, but she was still sniffing at the air a little. Realizing what she really wanted he reached for the plate of covered roast Granny had left on the table. Picking out a choice scrap he waved it in front of the dog's nose. Her jaws parted and she tried to take it from his hand, but he moved it back just as she moved. Growling a little she tried again. He did this a few more times before Winry interrupted him.

"Alphonse! Don't treat Den like that! You should be ashamed!"

He jumped at her angry tone and looked over. Den snatched the meat away when his attention was interrupted. Winry stood there in her fall jacket and boots; one hand on her hip the other clutching a small hatchet, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, Winry."

"It isn't me you should be apologizing to."

He flinched as she headed towards him and plopped into the chair across the table. He sighed a little in relief as she reached for the covered plate, then looked down when he realized she was still glaring at him. Taking a few more pieces of the roast from the plate he gave them to Den and apologized to the dog again. When he looked up again Winry was eating as if nothing had happened.

"Um, Winry." He paused as she looked up at him, still chewing. "Why are you all dressed?"

She swallowed loudly. "Granny says that the two of us need to go outside and play. I don't know why. I tried to argue with her, but you know how she is."

"But what about Brother?"

"She's going to watch him."

"But it's not fair for us to go outside and not him."

"I told her that, too. She says that Ed can go outside when he's better, but that won't be until spring. Then she told me if I didn't go that we would both be in trouble."

"I guess we have to, then, huh?"

"Yep." With that being decided Winry went back to her lunch.

After a few minutes of watching Winry and Den eat Al spoke up again, "So what do you want to do outside?"

"We could pick flowers. The ones for the table wilted a week ago and I haven't had time to get anymore."

"Yeah, we could put some in Brother's room, too."

"It's not too girly?" Winry teased with a smile.

Al frowned. "I don't think so. Everyone likes flowers, even Brother. Just not too many pink ones."

Winry laughed. "Fine not too many pinks." She stood and took her dishes to the sink. "Let's go."

Back in Ed's room Granny jumped as the screen door slammed. Going to the window she smiled to herself as she watched the children set out, each carrying a large basket, with Den in tow. She hoped they picked some flowers. And some apples out of Old Man Fawke's field would be nice, too.

Winry and Alphonse made their way across Resembool with sharp eyes. Al's new height helped them to find even more flowers than usual along with Winry's studying of medicinal herbs she completed in the spring. Just on the walk from the house to the river bank they were able to find pansies, chrysanthemums, hydrangea, rosehips thyme and sage. Walking along the shore, they headed to the outer farms which surrounded Resembool. In a shady patch they stopped and crooned over some mushrooms. Picking a few, they were carefully wrapped in cheesecloth and set on the bottom of one of the baskets to be eaten later. A few limes clung stubbornly to a tree branch half a kilometer further down and Al reached up to pick them. Growing in the shade of that tree were some early winter honeysuckle, witch-hazel, and mahonia that that they couldn't see at first, but Winry smelled out. As they picked a few of each blossom Al had to endure a lecture on what each one was good for. Walking farther along, they climbed out of the riverbank when they got to an apple farm.

Seeing no people about working in the fields and no dogs roaming the grounds they climbed over the fence to steal some apples. Only the brightest green or darkest red found their way into the baskets. As they neared the home of the gardens owner Winry spied some late roses blooming next to a line of boxwood by the fence. Al hid behind a tree holding the baskets as he watched Winry crawl over to the plants she wanted. As she picked what she wanted he missed seeing Old Man Fawke's hound dog slipping quietly out of the kitchen door. As the screen door slammed Winry ran back to him, arms full of blossoms. The dog chased them all through the orchard, but the fence stalled him as Al tossed first the baskets over, then Winry. A gun cracked overhead, but they just laughed already down the road.

They crossed the fields to head home the back way instead of along the river. Sage, hyssop, mint, angelica, artemisia, vibernums…..Winry stopped for each one declaring them perfect for Ed's room. Al insisted on picking the winter hazel, hosta, hydrangea, pansies, coquelicot, and late asters he saw on the way back. As they reached the side of the yard Den came trotting over from her place in the driveway where she'd given up following them. The setting sun reflected off Al and Granny stopped her clean-up to greet the kids at the door. When they saw her, framed in the doorway, both children freaked out.

"Granny, what about Ed?!" "I thought Brother couldn't be left alone today!?"

"Both of you hush. The little pipsqueak is fine. Come inside and show me what you picked."

Granny led the way to the kitchen. Al deposited both baskets on the table while Winry went to check on Ed. She came back with an expression Al couldn't read.

"Was there any blood?"

"Blood?!"

"Nope, you did a good job putting that tube in."

Winry sighed in relief as Al looked back and forth between the two. Shrugging a little he turned back to the baskets and began to display their finds. Granny ooed and awed over the amount of flowers. They had enough for every room in the house. A few blooms were even stuffed into a broken drill and sat on the bathroom sink. The apples were declared the best Granny had ever seen and plans for preserves were quickly made with promises to set some aside for when Al had his body back. Both kids were disgusted as the limes were said to be "the perfect ripeness for a pint of beer." Lastly Winry reached in and unwrapped the mushrooms. Granny examined these very carefully before announcing them good to eat. A creamy mushroom soup was decided as the best and it would be perfect for Ed's first solid meal after surgery.

Al was sent to Ed's room with his bouquet of flowers. He could hear another argument begin when he entered the hallway. Half an hour later a freshly showered Winry joined him again.

"I won this fight. I get to stay again tonight."

"I saw Brother had his tube removed."

"Yep, but I've still got to check everything. He should start moving again tonight then maybe wake up soon."

"Yay!"

Al helped this time as Winry went through her evening routine of checking over Ed. He watched as after doing everything else, she checked out his mouth. The same goopy stuff was rubbed on the lips, but then she did something which was very alarming. She used a little hose to dribble some water into his mouth. When his gauntlet came down on her hand, she looked up at him confused.

"Won't he choke?"

"I don't think so. The tube often dries people out, so I thought I'd try some water."

He released her hand and she began the dribble again. He grew increasingly concerned as more water ran and nothing happened, when he jumped in surprise.

"He swallowed!"

"Yeah, I thought he'd like some water."

"But he swallowed!" Al repeated.

"I know, I told you. He should be waking up soon."

They watched as Ed swallowed a couple more times before Winry shut off the water and set the little hose aside.

"I don't want to give him too much, he might be nauseous. Let's go play."

Al, still excited over Ed's little recovery, kept one eye on his brother as he broke out his magic tricks.


	6. The last night

Al spent the majority of that evening only half-heartedly playing with Winry, too intent on watching for more signs of life from Ed. Winry was watching, too, though he didn't notice. The magic tricks quickly got old and were put away. Tired of coloring and card games, Winry had fetched a book and was reading it out loud from her perch in the rocking chair. Al sat by the bed, eyes riveted to Ed letting her voice wash over him. An hour passed this way until finally Winry put the book aside. She left the room to search for some food.

Al didn't stir as she moved. He just sat watching Ed. It had been weird not hearing his brother's voice over the last few days. He missed their talks. He knew Ed wouldn't be up for one of their talks for a long time, but even hearing him call Al's name right now would be nice. He considered trying Winry's trick with the water while she was gone, but decided against it. What if he made Ed sick? That got him thinking about the procedure again. Would Ed still need all of the tubes once he woke up? Was there anything he could do to help with the "nerves-part"? He still didn't really understand how that worked, but didn't want to bother Winry with it. He stared at Ed's hand and was wondering if he should take it when she came back into the room.

She took a bite of sandwich and with a full mouth asked, "Did he move any?"

"No."

"If you want you could try holding his hand. It might help to stimulate him."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We'll probably sit him up in a few minutes and I'll try brushing his hair. Sometimes that helps, too."

They sat in silence while Winry ate. Al held Ed's hand gingerly, running a gauntlet thumb across the back of his knuckles and over the palm before starting it over again. He let out a yelp of surprise when Ed's hand twitched after his thumb had hit a sensitive part on the wrist. Winry choked on her milk a little and glared at him.

"What Al?"

"He twitched."

"Yeah. Show me." Setting aside her empty dishes, she slid out of the chair and walked over to the table. Her hands clapped in delight when Al repeated the action causing Ed's fingers to twitch. "That's great, Al." His eyes twinkled at her as she put a hand on his shoulder. She moved away, then, heading towards the door. "Sit Ed up. I'm going to go get the hairbrush."

She came back and climbed up onto the bed. Al had a pillow slung over one arm and had leaned Ed over on it. Al looked away as she spread her legs around his brother's waist and her skirt rode up. Ordinarily he would have teased Ed about his blush, but now he would have to be embarrassed for him. Winry didn't appear to notice as she gently began to tease out the tangles at the nape of his neck. After looking at his brother for a few moments he decided to swallow it down and watch Winry brush the hair. He watched as the silky gold slid through her fingers and let his memory drift. He looked at Winry almost shyly before he asked, "Winry, when I get my body back..."

Her hands paused in mid-stroke. "Yes Al."

"When I get my body back, will you play with my hair, too?"

"But Al, you always hated when I played with your hair. You said I made it spike up all funny."

"I know, but….I miss it now."

She didn't respond, instead burying her face in the back of Ed's head.

"Winry?" He raised his hand, prepared to push her face back when he heard her sniffle. He froze, not sure what to do. A few moments passed with only a sniffle or two heard before Winry moved again. She looked up at him with slightly red eyes and a big smile on her face. "Of course I will, Al. I'll spike it up in all directions!" Al giggled in response trying to hide his discomfort at making her cry. She began brushing again. As Ed's hair slipped between her fingers Al leaned forward for a better look.

"Brother's hair has gotten long. Shouldn't we cut it for him?"

Winry sat her brush beside her on the bed and ran both hands up the back of Ed's neck and through his hair. Al didn't notice Ed's eyelashes as they flickered, but he did hear the slight moan. Winry pulled the tresses straight as Al spoke up. "Winry, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"He moaned!"

"…Maybe he's in pain? We should lay him back down. I'm not going to cut Ed's hair. I don't think he'd mind, but he may like it long." She looked down for a second before adding "I kind of like it longer" as a faint blush spread over her cheeks. She slid off the bed and helped Al gently lay Ed back down. When he was all adjusted Al sat back down on the floor not sure what to do next. A few minutes passed during which Al said nothing as Winry fussed over Ed's hair until she got it how she wanted. As he was thinking over what to say, she interrupted his thoughts. "I'm going to go brush my teeth. Should I grab anything on my way back?" He thought for a minute before shaking his head no. He watched her as she went to the door. When it had closed behind her he felt a slight wave of relief, followed by a larger wave of guilt. He hadn't meant to make her cry. Usually it was Ed who made her do that. He made a promise then, to himself and everyone else, that he would do his best to not make Winry cry anymore, even if it meant not telling her things. He was affirming that promise to himself when he thought he heard Ed groan again. He watched carefully, but nothing seemed different when Winry came back in the room cradling a book in her arms.

"What's that?"

"It's _The History of Amestris_ book from school."

"You're not supposed to bring those home, you know."

"I don't care."

"So why did you bring it in here? Are you going to study or something? I thought Granny said you didn't have to go to school anymore."

"It's not for me, it's for you."

"Me?!"

"Yes, I know neither you nor Ed bothered to learn this stuff in school, so I thought you should learn it now."

"Why do I need to learn that? And why doesn't Ed have to learn anything?"

"Quit being such a baby. I'll make Ed learn later. I thought it would help you on your travels." She hung her head again and Al felt panic well up in him. She continued without looking up at him. "Ed said that I can't come with you and I just want to help in some way. I thought maybe this would be good for you two. If it's not I can put it back."

Al jumped up as she was finishing the last sentence. He dropped to his knees in front of the little girl with a clang causing her to jump. A few tears had escaped down her cheeks while she was talking. He grabbed the book. "Don't cry, Winry. It's a good idea. I didn't think about that. It will help. And we don't want you coming along in case it is dangerous and because you need to finish learning automail and you know, that kind of stuff so don't worry about that, okay?!" His panicked rant was interrupted when Winry gently slid her arms around his neck and hugged him. He went still before gently hugging her back.

Pulling back she rubbed a fist into one eye and yawned, swaying slightly on her feet. He steadied her. "Its okay, Winry. Why don't you lay down and I'll read."

"But I promised Ed I'd be here when he woke up."

He moved to the bed, tugging her by the hand gently behind him. He shifted Ed over and patted the empty space. "You'll be here, just like you promised. Go on. I'll wake you when he wakes up."

She nodded before climbing into bed. Al laughed a little as she immediately cuddled up to Ed's arm and fell asleep. He pushed away the thought that it was all of the crying that made her so tired and went to turn out the lights. He settled down on the other side of the bed with a lamp on the floor so as not to disturb the two sleepers.

The night passed with growing sounds as Ed slowly came back to life. At first it was just a varied heartbeat beside Winry's steady one. Al was a little worried about it until he saw Ed's toes wriggle under the covers. Groans and whimpers became louder as the night wore on. Al paid less and less attention to the words in the book as Ed's movements became more and more frequent. When he rolled his head to the right into Al's face, the book was set down. It wasn't until the first rays of sunlight began to light up the fields out the window that Ed's eyes slowly opened. Al held his imaginary breath as he watched those golden orbs come into focus. He let it out in a rush when Ed finally spoke.

"Alphonse" rolled smoothly out of Ed's mouth and left a slight fog on the chin plate of Al's armor.

"Good morning, Brother." Al watched as Ed's eyes flickered around the room, and then widened a little.

"I can't move my hand."

Al immediately felt all of the guilt return as he answered, "That's because you don't have a right hand, yet."

Ed rolled his eyes slightly in irritation and Al felt hope push aside all of the guilt.

"Not that hand, stupid, my left hand." His eyes dimmed as this was said.

"That's because Winry is holding it." Al stood as Ed slowly rolled his head to the left bringing him nearly face to face with the little girl. She had scrunched down until her chin rested on his narrow shoulder.

"See, Brother. She was worried about breaking a promise so I made her get into bed beside you."

Ed nodded in reply and swallowed a little. His eyes slowly closed sleepily then snapped open again. Al watched in surprise as Ed creened his neck until his lips rested on Winry's forehead. Leaning forward he couldn't make out the words Ed whispered to her; though he saw the lips move. Al smiled a little to himself as he watched Ed slowly kiss Winry on the forehead. His smile faded as Ed fell back into sleep and he slowly crept out of the room to wake up Granny.

_30/08/07 -Author's notes: I just wanted to add a thank you to my anonymous reviewers and everyone else who found some enjoyment in reading this story. Sequel details are posted in my bio for anyone interested._


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